“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”  – Howard Thurman (1900-1981)

In the movie Boyhood, the young protagonist asks his father what it all means.  Their conversation goes like this:

Mason: So what’s the point?

Dad: Of what?

Mason: I don’t know, any of this. Everything.

Dad: Everything? What’s the point? I mean, I sure as sh-t don’t know. Neither does anybody else, okay? We’re all just winging it, you know? The good news is you’re feeling stuff. And you’ve got to hold on to that.

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.

As we’ve discussed before, you can shove off from the bank of a river and the current will carry you downstream.  Similarly, you can live your life one day after another with no forethought. — just winging it, you know?

Some philosophical traditions teach that to desire anything is to set yourself up for heartache, and that attachment is the source of misery.  In these systems, it is wrong to try to steer at all, so learning to accept the inevitable collisions is the path to greatest happiness.  Excuse me while I laugh.

I submit to you that there is great value in knowing and pursuing your heart’s desire and even more in understanding your purpose.  I’ll go further:  if you understand your purpose in life, you can steer a better course, avoid the failures that thwart others, accomplish more, be more and live a life of consequence.  So how do you do that?

Get in SHAPE
In his 2002 best-seller, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren provides a five-point template that can help a man discover his purpose.  Warren asserts that God has given each of us life to accomplish something specific and that the clues to that mission are already present.  He describes this process as understanding our SHAPE for ministry (all of life really, since your mission is your ministry).

To discover your God-given purpose, consider your:

Spiritual Gifts — These are scripturally-defined traits and capabilities that God gives to Christians to strengthen the church.  They sort most generally into two broad categories — speaking gifts and serving gifts — but every Christian has at least one such gift.  Understanding how God has equipped you to contribute to the health of the church is one clue to your life’s purpose.

Heart — What is your passion?  Or as Howard Thurman would put it: What makes you come alive?  Contrary to popular misconception, fulfilling your life’s purpose is not like being forced to eat your brussels sprouts or spinach.  Your heart’s desire can be a powerful indicator that points you to what you’re made for.  To do this you have to live close to your heart — to “feel stuff” as the dad in Boyhood said.  This was a great relief to me.

Abilities — What are you good at?  In what situations or environments are you at your best?  Are you an athlete?  Can you act? Do people respond favorably to your writing?  Are audiences moved by your singing or musicianship?  Do people naturally follow your lead?  These are the kinds of questions that can help guide you to your purpose.  Note, though, that you can be good at something you don’t love, and/or that is well below your potential.

Personality — Introvert or extrovert?  Leader or follower? Spontaneous or structured?  Your likes and dislikes — your way of going about life — are directional signs to lead you to your purpose and help you excel in it.  The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, DISC Profile and Fascination Advantage are tools that can help you understand how you view the world and how the world sees you.  Your preferences and predilections — even your struggles — are forming your character to fulfill your destiny.

Experience/Education — Where have you been and what have you done?  The lessons you’ve accumulated — in and out of school — can also help you discern your unique calling.  People who have overcome significant challenges often find they are drawn to help others going through similar circumstances.  They have more of a right to be heard than mere theoreticians.

Get it Together
If you take the time to audit your life according to these five aspects, you’ll begin to see a composite picture that will increase in clarity.  Your purpose will emerge almost like the image in a Magic Eye picture — seemingly from nowhere, when it was there all along.

Most of us know what we like and what we’re good at.  The missing element in many cases is that we’ve never considered that there could be a purpose stashed in these seemingly disparate parts of our lives.  If you want to leave a legacy, you must discover your purpose.

So how about you? What is your life’s purpose?  Once you’ve discovered it, make it known.  Add your comments below.

Note: This is the third post in a series expanding on points made in a post titled “You Cannot Eat Like a Sparrow and Defecate Like an Elephant” on living a life of significance. You can read the previous posts here and here.